“[Apple is] going to be attacking the highest end of the photography market,” Clayton Christensen Institute analyst and fellow Horace Dediu said.

“Apple more or less vanquished point-and-shoot cameras with the iPhone 5, so now we’re moving into higher performance.”

Engadget US said that there had been a “different buzz” in the lead-up to this year’s annual launch event.

“There's been talk of Cupertino playing it relatively safe with a new smartphone for the second year in a row,” the website said.

One possible reason for pushing a “minimum viable upgrade” to the iPhone might be to avoid stealing the thunder of the iPhone 8, which is expected to be launched next year “on the tenth anniversary of the iPhone”.